In honor of Membership Appreciation Month we wanted to highlight ASIS members from across the globe and ask them one question, “What are the key challenges of security today and how has ASIS membership helped you face them?”
Corporate security leaders face a myriad of challenges in today's complex and ever-evolving threat environment. While legacy missions such as surveillance, access control, executive protection, and internal investigations remain highly pertinent, CSOs must be adroit enough to manage an array of non-traditional security disciplines to include geopolitical risk analysis, cyber security, emerging technologies and artificial intelligence, and regulatory compliance. To be truly effective, however, CSOs must master the language of business and be able to communicate the ROI of security programs and align them to commercial objectives. This requires CSOs to dedicate the time and resources to ensure they (and their teams) can speak fluently on corporate strategy and operations. Stakeholder engagement throughout the organization becomes paramount, therefore, beyond the C-Suite and more traditional partners within the Human Resources, Facilities, and Legal functions.
Only after that fluency is attained should large-scale funding requests be put forward. Requests for investment in security solutions or personnel should be predicated on a two-part litmus test: (1) is the request tied to mitigating a foreseeable and/or high-consequence threat? and (2) will the solution meaningfully reduce the risk to core business assets (including, of course, employees)? Procuring the least costly solution or system may be tempting and will almost certainly appeal to some internal stakeholders. More often than not, however, such choices prove to be short-sighted and beget additional, near-term funding requests for repairs or more effective replacements.
No first-time or even veteran CSO assumes their role with mastery over these disparate disciplines, and the all-consuming and unforgiving nature of security management leaves little room for self-study. As a result, active participation in the industry´s foremost professional association becomes critical for mission (and career) success. ASIS’s CSO Center offers security executives the very best in curated resources, industry insights, recommendations on cutting edge security technology, and peer-to-peer sharing of best practices. The willingness of many CSOs to exchange information and support one another is one of the very best aspects of becoming a member of this exclusive community. While CSOs may compete with one another for particular roles, they are generally non-competitive when it comes to asset protection and personnel safety. Where and when we can help one another, we do. That cooperative spirit and esprit de corps – even among CSOs representing competing brands – is unique to security management and is first and foremost borne out of a desire to serve and to protect. The CSO Center does a tremendous job in fostering and amplifying those principles among its constituent members.
Jason Mayer, CPP, has been an ASIS member for more than ten years and is currently a CSO Center member. He also volunteers on the ESRM technical committee. Mayer works as the global head of safety and security for Chobani.
